"Menilek II of Ethiopia"
A Historical Scenario (With Fictional Elements)
By "LION"


DIPLOMACY

I used the same kind of thing John Petroski did in his WWII scenario to
do diplomacy.  Most nations are at peace at the start, and cannot
negotiate (so you can't trade tech or sue for peace later).  Of course,
you can always backstab someone if you are the human player.  And if you
are doing a little too well, the other nations will stab you in the back.

The situation is fairly accurate as far as Europe is concerned.  They 
would not have a serious war until WWI broke out in the 1910's, which is
after this scenario ends.  Obviously, the situation changes dramatically
if either Italy or Ethiopia makes major inroads on the colonial scene.

You *can't* get tech from conquest.  That really only makes much of a 
difference to the Ethiopians and Mahdists, though, who are very backward
technologically.  As either civ, your first action should be to develop
firearms and breechloaders as quickly as possible so you can compete
with Europe on even terms.  (You should also be able to clean the clock
of your backward neighbor.)


THE SEVEN NATIONS

Recommended Tribes:  Ethiopia, Italy
Also Playable:  French, English, Portuguese
Challenging:  Mahdists, Ottomans

 Ethiopia:  Under Menelik II, the Ethiopians began to transition from 
their feudal, medieval society to a more modern society.  The job was
never completed, though.  Many of your units will be older medieval units
at first, although you start with some infantry, cavalry, and your king
unit (Menelik).  At the start of the game, the hero Ras Alula is not yet
sure which way to jump.  Perhaps a concrete victory would give him the
courage to stand by his king, or perhaps he will see an opportunity in
service to the hated Italians.  Your goal as the Ethiopians is to forge
a powerful empire.  Who knows?  Perhaps under your leadership, the
Ethiopians can become a new African power to rival those of Europe.  Your
alliance with Italy should last for quite a few turns, but be ready
when they backstab you.

 Italy:  United only a few years earlier, the fledgling republic is out
to create their own colonial empire abroad.  A deal with the English has
given them the port of Massawa, but their deal-breaking and backstabbing
has not endeared them to the locals.  Menelik has raised an army to kick
them out of his territory and reclaim Massawa.  The Italians have little
territory and are slightly lower tech than the rest of Europe, so be
wary of fighting others, especially the powerful French and English.  You
have four unique general units that you should try not to lose.  There
is also the chance you could turn Ras Alula against the Ethiopians if
your Ascari (native irregular infantry) do well enough.  Of course you
would need to eliminate him if he got too much control...

 France:  One of the most powerful colonial powers, France has many units
and cities at the start.  They were designed to be an adversary if the
other powers get too powerful, but could be fun to play.  The French are
coming off of a century of serious turmoil and have a far-flung empire.
Expect happiness difficulties unless you can conquer some happy wonders.

 England:  Like France, quite powerful and used mainly as an adversary.
It might be fun to play them, though.  They are currently having problems
with the Boer Republics in the Horn of Africa.  Conquering the Boers is
likely their first priority.  Second is ensuring that no power in Africa
becomes too powerful.  When Egypt recruited American Civil War veterans
to lead its armies as Pashas and began an aggressive campaign to conquer
East Africa, they intervened with Italy's help.  The same will likely
happen if any other power grows too strong in that region.

 Portuguese:  They have a pretty fair sized colonial presence and some
good units.  Like the Italians, they will have a hard time defeating a
major power like France or England, and so would be fun to play.  They
are a bit out of the main action, however, and will miss out on most of
the major events.  The Portuguese need to capture some happiness wonders
to really expand much.

 Ottoman Empire:  The Ottomans have less technology than the Europeans,
but are still a force to be reckoned with.  Their main problem is a
declining society (reflected in lack of advancements and treasury 
problems).  Their influence over neighboring regions like Egypt has 
waned with the growing power of the Europeans.

 Mahdists:  The Mahdists are a fundamentalist sect that seized power in
Sudan and southern Egypt.  They have fought several wars of aggression
against Ethiopia, and been soundly defeated each time.  Their technology
is similar to that of Ethiopia.  Britain and Italy are both growing very
nervous about the Mahdists, who have been arming themselves by stealing
rifles from battlefields.  If the grow strong enough, they could mount
an attack on British Egypt.  Worse, they might prove a powerful ally to
the Ottoman Empire against Europe.

 Others:  The barbarians represent various native tribes that will be
conquered at the earliest convenience.  They also include the tougher
Boer Republics, who produce Boer units (which are superior infantry).
General de Wet is out there somewhere too, so don't be surprised if
the Boers make some inroads against you.  Just be careful de Wet isn't
the one who captures your city, or you will be facing lots of de Wets...
 

MILITARY UNITS
  
In general, local units are faster than European units, but European
units pack more punch.

-------------
Ancient Units
-------------

   Spearmen:  Weak units mostly used to fill out your army.  Handy for
 exploring without much risk, for reserves, for policing cities and
 quelling disorder.  The "barbarian" Somalis also use them.

   Swordsmen:  Better on attack and defense than spearmen, they are still
 no match for riflemen.

   Horsemen:  Armed with swords, early cavalry are still effective in
 some circumstances, but real cavalry (with guns) are much better.

   Workers:  These are settlers.

   Caravans:  Trade units.

   Wooden Frigate:  An early 19th-century era frigate made of wood.  The
 wooden frigate is no match for the modern ironclad.

   Transport:  Wooden sailing ship used to transport troops and goods.

   Tribesmen:  Good on defense, tribesmen represent huge hordes of stone
 age Africans.

   Warriors:  These are zulus and jungle dwellers.  Good on attack.


------------
Modern Units
------------

   Infantry:  The attack version have 6/3/1, while the defend version
 have 5/4/1, at least for Europeans.  The Ethiopians have faster infantry
 units once these are developed, but their feudal organization makes
 them weaker on attack and defense.

   Cavalry:  Mounted units with rifles.  As with infantry, the Ethiopian
 version is faster but less strong.  Cavalry are much worse on defense
 because you can shoot the horses and cripple them.

   Machine Guns:  Machine guns were slow but extremely dangerous when
 used defensively.

   Mountain Guns:  Good all-around attack and defense units, these
 are relatively good artillery units.  Ignore city walls.

   Artillery:  Superior on attack, artillery should always be defended
 with an infantry unit to prevent their destruction (i.e., they have 1
 on defense).  Ignore city walls.

   Ascari [ITALIAN ONLY]:  Native troops used by the Italians were called
 Ascari.  Like their regular Ethiopian counterparts, they are worse on
 attack but are faster (they know the area).

   Engineers:  Better settlers.  The African version is not as fast as
 the European version at working and cannot use the Transform command.

   Skirmishers:  Advanced infantry.  After being bushwhacked by the Boers
 the English learned not to mass their forces.  Skirmishers use more
 widely spaced lines.

   Frigate:  The modern metallic version of the sea attack unit, frigates
 are fast and good on shore bombardments.

   Battleships:  Slower and stronger than frigates.

   Dreadnoughts:  Huge and very dangerous sea units.  The British built
 them first in real life.

   Freight:  Faster caravans on wheels.

   Clipper Ships:  Very fast wooden ships used to transport goods from
 the Cape to Britain.

   Steamers:  Once steamships really got going, they were faster than
 even the best clipper ships.  Transport vessels of the modern era.

   Scout Balloons:  The best air units you will get here, the British
 used them first during the Boer Wars.

   Fortress:  Just what it sounds like.  The Italians have two of these
 protecting Eritrea from attack.  Major countries also have several of
 them protecting their homeland.

   Explorer:  An updated version of the regular Explorer unit, these are
 handy for scouting enemy territory.  Smoking a big stogie and pointing
 toward the horizon.


NOTES ON CITY PLACEMENT AND TRIBE CHOICES

I have tried wherever possible to be as faithful as possible to Rand
McNally and the maps I have from the time period in question.  However,
a few cities have been moved a bit to make room for them on the map.
This is especially true of the area around Ethiopia.  I had similar
troubles along the Gold Coast and Ivory Coast and in Senegal.

Large regions are sometimes represented as cities (such as mainland Italy
and France, the Ottoman Empire, etc.).  In this case, the cities have
been given city walls to represent the difficulty of conquering an
entire territory.  If on the coast, they also have coastal forts.

Victoria was really a German city, but I gave it to the British.  I had
no room for one more civ and I was already starting to have too many
barbarian cities floating around.  Belgium is lumped in with France;
Germany is either absent or divided amongst the others.  India is not
on the map.

Egypt, though technically Ottoman, was in fact run by the British during
this time period, so I made it British.


NOTES ON UNIT PICTURES

It was quite hard to find images of soldiers from this period during the
conflict, perhaps because Kodak had only just invented the camera a few
years before.  I did find good photos of Menilek and some of the Italian
commanders.  One thing I noticed about the Italian is that they seemed
to use many different kinds and colors of uniforms.  I chose the nifty
looking white uniforms with the feather-topped shakos.  I suspect these
were actually dress uniforms and not for fighting, as the Italians are
shown in several pictures in a light khaki and wearing canvas helmets.
However, they are also depicted in black, what looks like navy blue, and
a darker tan color in different paintings and photos.  The Ethiopians
mostly wear white robes with no headgear.  Their use of rifles seems to
be historically accurate; roughly 4/5 had some kind of firearm, although
many were smoothbore muskets rather than rifles.  Still, Menilek had at
least 5,000 cartridge-fed rifles that he got from the Italians, and also
bought a ton of Remingtons from the Americans before the war.  I found
only one good picture of the Egyptians and it was online.  Once again,
it showed what looked like dress uniforms, though; navy blue with shakos
guarding a doorway.  No one took photos of the Mahdists, but I used the
dervish icons, which seem very suited to their descriptions in both
Berkeley and Battaglia's accounts.  The manufactured brimmed hat on 
Menilek's head is accurate as well, by the way!


NOTES ON ETHIOPIAN SPELLING

There are no standard English spellings of Ethiopian names.  Adowa, for
example, is also spelled Adwa or Adowe.  Menilek is just about as common
as Menelik.  Negus is sometimes Neghus or Neghast or even Negest.  One
American spelled it Niggus but I thought perhaps this person (a white
southerner from the early 1900's) may perhaps have been deliberately
spelling it in an inflammatory way.  I went with the simplest, Negus,
which looks coolest to me.


HISTORICAL SOURCES

Like anything written by Europeans and Americans about black people, the
accounts vary widely in quality and accuracy.  Early sources are very
likely to speak of the Ethiopians with a confused mixture of respect and
loathing, as if they don't know quite what to say about them.  In one
breath they will compliment an Ethiopian on his honor, intelligence and
decency and then in the same breath say he was not as good as a white
man.  From time to time you find black Americans writing about black 
history and the result is just as bad as with any white American, but
the writing is feel-good drivel designed to show off black victories in
an unrealistic way rather than showing up black failures in an unrealistic
way.  In all cases, there is often the tendency to lionize or vilify
individuals to such a degree that it seems like caricature.

That said, I found a few sources I felt were more useful than the others.
By far the most useful book I found was "The Campaign of Adowa" by G.
Berkeley (London:  Constable & Co, 1930?).  It had detailed maps of the
area as well as a narrative discussion of various military engagements
and the political structure of Ethiopia.  It also has a good timeline.
Also useful was "La Prima Guerra D'Africa" by Roberto Battaglia (Torino:
Einaudi, 1958).  Although I can read Italian quite well it was very
rah-rah about the Italians and was more useful for its pictures of both
Italian and Ethiopian figures.  The paintings are funny; they depict
the Ethiopians as naked savages, which does not seem to be accurate.  The
wonders and most of the info on Ethiopian culture came from the
"Historical Dictionary of ETHIOPIA" by Chris Prouty and Eugene Rosenfeld
(London: Scarecrow Press, 1981).  I wish it had pictures, though.  Last
and probably least, I pinched some ideas from Chris Prouty Rosenfeld 
(apparently she was married to Eugene) who wrote a "Chronology of Menilek
II of Ethiopia, 1844-1913" (Ann Arbor, Michigan:  Michigan State Univ.
Press, 1976).


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Units were taken from various sources, including Allard's Boer War
scenario (British Infantry, Mountain Gun); the MPS Jules Verne scenario
(One British Infantry, Zulu), and the MPS World War I scenario (freight,
most of the European Infantry and Cavalry).  Others were modified by me
from icons downloaded from Allard's site.  I took the workers unit from
BlackClove's Haiti scenario.

